Blue Zoo Creative » SEOhttp://www.bluezoocreative.com
Website Design and Social Media for Northwest ArkansasThu, 30 Jul 2015 14:42:25 +0000en-UShourly1Google Hummingbird Gets Social, but Content Still Kinghttp://www.bluezoocreative.com/2015/04/hummingbird/
http://www.bluezoocreative.com/2015/04/hummingbird/#commentsWed, 15 Apr 2015 05:44:30 +0000http://www.bluezoocreative.com/?p=8627– Updated April 2015 – Google created a search algorithm update called Hummingbird. “Google has said content is king for years, and with long tail phrases and conversational searching, authoritative content will continue to win.” ~ Eric Ward, Search Engine Land Hummingbird is the most significant update since Caffeine in 2010. The name references their goal for Google […]

Google created a search algorithm update called Hummingbird.

“Google has said content is king for years, and with long tail phrases and conversational searching, authoritative content will continue to win.” ~ Eric Ward, Search Engine Land

Hummingbird is the most significant update since Caffeine in 2010. The name references their goal for Google search to be fast and precise, continuing in their quest to dominate online search. Hummingbird allows Google to more quickly parse full questions (as opposed to single words), and to give back answers to those questions from the content they’ve indexed.

Google is placing additional emphasis on content that addresses customer needs and questions.

Include search query results data in your ad content. This will help you rank better in voice search. Make sure your website content matches the search queries. If not, then it’s time to update your website.

Google Analytics will no longer provide keyword data. Keyword information must be gleaned from other sources like Google Ads, your customers and social media.

Quality, organic links are important. Content alone may not be enough. You must have trust and authority as evidenced by quality backlinks from trusted sources.

Relational (think social media) information is more important. Google is connecting more information about people, places and things. This means social sharing, Open Graph Tags, and especially Google owned properties like YouTube and G+ are more important.

Mobile is becoming more important to Google and search users. Make sure your site is optimized for mobile.

Google Conversational search is also live. Using the microphone in the search box, you can use your voice to have Google search be more conversational, understanding and feeding back information much like regular human conversation.

Image by Search Engine Land

Search Engine Optimization is still important, but the way you do it is changing. Dynamic and targeted content is becoming more important as Google works to improve search’s ability to help people find answers to their questions.

Key Takeaways:

Discover the needs and questions of your customers.

Answer them with quality content on your website. Blogs and FAQs are great ways to do this.

Make your content easily sharable

This makes it an ideal time to update your website content.

If you want help, we have 3 great Content Packages designed to help you keep your information useful, relevant and engaging. Blogging, testimonials, FAQs and other social sharing content are more important than ever.

]]>http://www.bluezoocreative.com/2015/04/hummingbird/feed/0Don’t Feed the SEO!http://www.bluezoocreative.com/2015/02/feed-the-seo/
http://www.bluezoocreative.com/2015/02/feed-the-seo/#commentsThu, 12 Feb 2015 04:01:39 +0000http://www.bluezoocreative.com/?p=8526You’ve probably heard of SEO (Search Engine Optimization), and wondered, is that something I need to be doing for my website? Well, we’re here to tell you all the reasons why you should not feed the SEO! First, what if you did have your site optimized, and your website ranking shot up on Google? You’d […]

]]>You’ve probably heard of SEO (Search Engine Optimization), and wondered, is that something I need to be doing for my website? Well, we’re here to tell you all the reasons why you should not feed the SEO!

First, what if you did have your site optimized, and your website ranking shot up on Google? You’d suddenly start getting a lot more traffic to your site, which would probably increase the number of real clients contacting you about your service or product, and then where would you be? Who has time to handle all that extra work?!

And second, good SEO only puts an internet spotlight on your website, which is your best marketing instrument and already works for you 24/7. Surely you don’t want to make it work even harder for you, do you?

On top of that, good SEO will increase your sales without proportionately increasing your marketing costs, and then your budget will be all messed up! You might have to find some use for those extra marketing funds elsewhere in the company, which would just be annoying, wouldn’t it?

Paying for SEO analysis and improvement also might make you reach your financial goals and growth targets more quickly than planned, and then you’ll have to start all over setting new goals and working towards them!

By ignoring SEO, and not feeding the monster, you can avoid having a website that might be viewed by thousands of your best prospects and ideal clients. Don’t you want a website that you can leave to the whim and fancy of Google to rank at its will?

And finally, if you’re absolutely determined to ignore our best advice, and have decided that you must feed the SEO or have your website effectively die on the vine, please contact us for a quote, and we will do our best to make the process as painless as possible.

]]>http://www.bluezoocreative.com/2015/02/feed-the-seo/feed/0How to Win Friends and Influence Googlehttp://www.bluezoocreative.com/2013/11/how-to-win-friends-and-influence-google/
http://www.bluezoocreative.com/2013/11/how-to-win-friends-and-influence-google/#commentsTue, 26 Nov 2013 00:42:44 +0000http://www.bluezoocreative.com/?p=7028“Engagement” is a nebulous term referring to everything from social indicators to brand recognition to customer loyalty. In this post, when we say engagement, we mean the degree to which the design and content of your website are able to draw in and hook your visitors. In Google Analytics terms, this means page views, visit […]

]]>“Engagement” is a nebulous term referring to everything from social indicators to brand recognition to customer loyalty. In this post, when we say engagement, we mean the degree to which the design and content of your website are able to draw in and hook your visitors. In Google Analytics terms, this means page views, visit duration, bounce rate and returning visitors. In a nutshell, we’re talking about the amount of time visitors spend on your site and their tendency to return.

While more time spent on your site doesn’t necessarily translate directly to a higher conversion rate, it probably does mean that your visitor found value, has a positive impression of your brand and is more likely to return. Which, over time, increases the odds that casual visitors will convert to customers or subscribers.

There’s speculation that Google considers engagement, specifically bounce rate, in search engine result page (SERP) rankings. Matt Cutts, who heads the webspam team at Google, has said that Google does not consider bounce rate. Bounce rate data, he says, is too “noisy” to be a reliable indicator of engagement. But high-quality sites are engaging and engaging sites tend to be of higher quality, so it’s seems likely that Google is trying to crack this problem. Until they do, most of the things that engage your visitors also help with your SEO.

Things you can do to promote user engagement and make Google like you.

A compelling image or graphic leaps out and grabs user attention in those first crucial moments and communicates on a different level than text alone. Images evoke strong, immediate emotional responses.

A succinct, clever headline communicates almost as quickly as an image, but with more precision. It’s your opportunity to let your visitor know he’s found what he was looking for and compel him to explore your content further.

Socialize

SEO professionals have speculated for a while that search engines would begin to factor social signals as an indicator of content quality and authority. Both the Moz and Searchmetrics studies suggest this is happening. A high number of mentions on social media (particularly Google +1s) is a characteristic strongly correlated with high search rankings. Both studies are careful to point out that correlation does not equal causation. In other words, although content with strong social signals tends to rank highly in search, that doesn’t mean its rank is the result of social media.

With regard to engagement, we’re more likely to try something if it’s recommended by a trusted friend or colleague. Because of the value we expect based on our friend’s recommendation, we’re more likely to both click the link and give that content or product a chance, even if it doesn’t immediately appeal to us,

Be Verbose

Writing for the web has been guided by an intuitive wisdom to “Be Succinct.” The premise being that readers found on-screen text cumbersome and reading it unpleasant. Short and sweet still holds true on a certain level (Exhibit A: Twitter). However, technological advances, along with nearly two decades of acclimation to the medium, mean it’s no longer a given that your online audience prefers short content.

Over the last couple years, products like Pocket, Instapaper and Readability and sites like Longreads and The Atavist have found success catering to the demand for long-form online writing. And the principle extends to marketing copy. Neil Patel, co-founder of Crazy Egg, tested lead generation with 488 words vs. 1,292 words on the homepage of his blog. The long-form version converted 7.6% better. A split test by UX gurus 37signals found that, compared to a condensed version, a long-form sales page increased signups 37.5%!

Google, too, seems to like longer content. Both the Searchmetrics study and a study by serpIQ found a positive correlation between higher word count and higher SERP ranking. Of course, this effect has limits. Your 10,000-word blog post isn’t guaranteed first position in search results. The sweet spot appears to be 500 to 1,500 words.

But…

Break it Down

Especially important with longer texts, scannable content helps your visitors find what they came for and reduces the likelihood they’ll bounce to search elsewhere. Pages with plenty of subheadings and a sprinkling of lists are easier to digest, more visually appealing and are disproportionately represented at the top of search results.

Use lots of headings and subheadings

Write short paragraphs

Highlight key phrases with bold or italic text

Make lists

See how easy that was?

The things that improve your site’s search ranking are the same things that keep visitors coming back.

Some SEO techniques are faddish and may even be damaging in the long run (we’re looking at you, keyword density). We don’t have to guess at what Google will reward or devalue with the next update. Each tweak and refinement of the search algorithm is aimed at improving the ratio of high-value sites at the top of the results. We know what Google wants. It’s the same thing consumers of online media want.

Quality content on an appealing and functional website is a future-proof SEO strategy.

]]>http://www.bluezoocreative.com/2013/11/how-to-win-friends-and-influence-google/feed/0Google Hummingbird Gets Social, but Content Still Kinghttp://www.bluezoocreative.com/2013/10/google-hummingbird-gets-social-but-content-still-king/
http://www.bluezoocreative.com/2013/10/google-hummingbird-gets-social-but-content-still-king/#commentsWed, 16 Oct 2013 21:21:17 +0000http://www.bluezoocreative.com/?p=6772– Updated April 2015 – Google most recent search algorithm update is called Hummingbird. “Google has said content is king for years, and with long tail phrases and conversational searching, authoritative content will continue to win.” ~ Eric Ward, Search Engine Land Hummingbird is the most significant update since Caffeine in 2010. The name references their goal […]

Google most recent search algorithm update is called Hummingbird.

“Google has said content is king for years, and with long tail phrases and conversational searching, authoritative content will continue to win.” ~ Eric Ward, Search Engine Land

Hummingbird is the most significant update since Caffeine in 2010. The name references their goal for Google search to be fast and precise, continuing in their quest to dominate online search. Hummingbird allows Google to more quickly parse full questions (as opposed to single words), and to give back answers to those questions from the content they’ve indexed.

Google is placing additional emphasis on content that addresses customer needs and questions.

Include search query results data in your ad content. This will help you rank better in voice search. Make sure your website content matches the search queries. If not, then it’s time to update your website.

Google Analytics will no longer provide keyword data. Keyword information must be gleaned from other sources like Google Ads, your customers and social media.

Quality, organic links are important. Content alone may not be enough. You must have trust and authority as evidenced by quality backlinks from trusted sources.

Relational (think social media) information is more important. Google is connecting more information about people, places and things. This means social sharing, Open Graph Tags, and especially Google owned properties like YouTube and G+ are more important.

Mobile is becoming more important to Google and search users. Make sure your site is optimized for mobile.

Google Conversational search is also live. Using the microphone in the search box, you can use your voice to have Google search be more conversational, understanding and feeding back information much like regular human conversation.

Image by Search Engine Land

Search Engine Optimization is still important, but the way you do it is changing. Dynamic and targeted content is becoming more important as Google works to improve search’s ability to help people find answers to their questions.

Key Takeaways:

Discover the needs and questions of your customers.

Answer them with quality content on your website. Blogs and FAQs are great ways to do this.

Make your content easily sharable

This makes it an ideal time to update your website content.

If you want help, we have 3 great Content Packages designed to help you keep your information useful, relevant and engaging. Blogging, testimonials, FAQs and other social sharing content are more important than ever.

]]>http://www.bluezoocreative.com/2013/10/google-hummingbird-gets-social-but-content-still-king/feed/0Getting Started with WordPress SEOhttp://www.bluezoocreative.com/2013/09/getting-started-with-wordpress-seo/
http://www.bluezoocreative.com/2013/09/getting-started-with-wordpress-seo/#commentsThu, 26 Sep 2013 15:00:12 +0000http://www.bluezoocreative.com/?p=6635Are you wondering where to start with SEO? Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a wild world with a constantly changing landscape. Trends change, algorithms come and go and it can be hard to know the best solutions. The good news is that WordPress is a very SEO friendly platform. This post won’t teach you how […]

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a wild world with a constantly changing landscape. Trends change, algorithms come and go and it can be hard to know the best solutions. The good news is that WordPress is a very SEO friendly platform.

This post won’t teach you how to run a complete SEO campaign or all that WordPress can accomplish when it comes to search engine optimization. We’ll save those topics for another day. This post is about plugins! In particular there are two that can help your organization get results quickly with SEO.

Another comprehensive package that offers everything that All-in-One does, and also includes keyword and content analysis for your pages and posts.

Both plugins will improve your SEO without even changing the base options. They are configured with SEO standards in mind. With tweaking, however, both can become powerhouses. Do you want to integrate Google Authorship (and you should)? Done. Do you want to keep closer tabs on social media referrals? Done. These can be integrated without too much fuss.

Here are Blue Zoo, we use the SEO by Yoast plugin for our website and recommend it to our clients.

If you are wanting to explore these solutions yourself, it would be good to experiment a little. Don’t install both at the same time! Ideally, you would have two sites to use so that you could compare performance or try them one at a time.

Use the links above to download and then install via the plugin upload function in WordPress or just search for them within the plugin section of your admin panel. Before changing the settings too much, I would strongly recommend reading the following guides:

]]>http://www.bluezoocreative.com/2013/09/getting-started-with-wordpress-seo/feed/0Essential Google Analytics Metrics – Part 3http://www.bluezoocreative.com/2013/07/essential-google-analytics-metrics-part-3/
http://www.bluezoocreative.com/2013/07/essential-google-analytics-metrics-part-3/#commentsMon, 22 Jul 2013 15:00:58 +0000http://www.bluezoocreative.com/?p=5838Google Analytics is a must have step in building your online presence. As mentioned in my previous posts on Google Analytics Metrics (part 1, part 2), there are many metrics that you can use to track your online results. Analytics uses data to find patterns, measure results and help make decisions about actions to achieve […]

]]>Google Analytics is a must have step in building your online presence.

As mentioned in my previous posts on Google Analytics Metrics (part 1, part 2), there are many metrics that you can use to track your online results. Analytics uses data to find patterns, measure results and help make decisions about actions to achieve your goals.

This post covers the Demographics section of Google Analytics.

There are two subsections in the Demographics report, language and location.

1 – Your language is determined from your browser settings. When you visit a site, Google Analytics can request that information from the browser and determine the visitor’s preferred language. The codes are from one of two ISO specification (639, 3166). If you’re site is designed to have multiple languages like nwacaraccidentattorney.com, you can see which language is being viewed more and create more content for that language.

2 -Location information is provided by your ISP. Google Analytics can look up who your ISP is (Cox, Comcast, T-Mobile, etc.) and get an approximation of your location. You can do the same thing with sites like wheremyipaddress.com.

This method works well at isolating a location if you’re at home or at a business. However, mobile traffic is usually routed through a different region than your physical location. For example, if you live in Northwest Arkansas and have an AT&T iPhone, you’re probably being routed through Dallas, TX.

The initial location report is broken down by country. However, if you operate in the United States like Blue Zoo does, you can click on the name of the country and get a breakdown of traffic by state.

Since we’re in Fayetteville, Arkansas shows up as first on the list. Typically, you’ll see California, Texas and New York near the top of the list since they’re the most populous states. You will get random visitors from those states even if you’re a local company.

Once you get the list of states, you can select the state name and get a breakdown by city. If you’re trying to promote local businesses, this report will let you focus on the traffic that is closest to you physically. You can then get a better idea if your local online efforts are paying off.

If you need help interpreting Google Analytics or any of the various social media, mouse tracking, online ad tracking, or any of the other web metrics out there, please let Blue Zoo Creative know how we can help.

]]>http://www.bluezoocreative.com/2013/07/essential-google-analytics-metrics-part-3/feed/0Google Analytics Metrics-Part 2http://www.bluezoocreative.com/2013/06/google-analytics-metrics-part-2/
http://www.bluezoocreative.com/2013/06/google-analytics-metrics-part-2/#commentsThu, 13 Jun 2013 14:00:14 +0000http://www.bluezoocreative.com/?p=4637As mentioned in my previous post, Google Analytics is a must have tool that Blue Zoo installs on every site we build. With so much information available about metrics, it can be confusing to know what is important to measure and track. Here are my tips on using Google Analytics metrics. The first thing you […]

]]>As mentioned in my previous post, Google Analytics is a must have tool that Blue Zoo installs on every site we build. With so much information available about metrics, it can be confusing to know what is important to measure and track.

Here are my tips on using Google Analytics metrics.

In the last post I talked about Visits, Pageviews, Pages/Visit and Avg. Visit Duration. These metrics cover how many people are coming to your site and how they are interacting with your site.

This post will cover % New Visits, Unique Visitors and Bounce Rate.

% New Visits tells you how many visitors to your site are first time visitors. As you first launch your site, this number will be very high. After you get some age on your site, it should level out. What is a good percentage for each metric? It depends on what you’re doing. If you have new products or services that you’re offering and you’re promoting them online, this number should be high. If you’re appealing to existing customers then the reverse should be true.

For more detailed information about New Visits, Look under Behaviors> New vs. Returning and look at the Avg. Visit Duration column. Are the Returning Visitors spending more time on site than the new visitors? If so, they might have a favorite category or section of the site that they’re revisiting. Explore the data to look for the engaging content. If the new visitors are spending more time on site than returning visitors, then you might not be updating your site enough or offering enough information that is different from the existing information on your site.

Bounce rate is the percentage of visitors that leave or “bounce” from your site on the first page. If you have a high bounce rate it might mean that your initial page is not compelling and needs to be redesigned. Try using A/B testing and mouse tracking to determine what keeps people reading on your site and clicking further into the site.

It could also mean that the content for the page doesn’t match the keyword that brought the visitor to the site. Ideally, each page on your should have just one focus so this doesn’t happen.

If you need help interpreting Google Analytics, social media, mouse or online ad tracking, or any other web metrics, please contact us for help.

]]>http://www.bluezoocreative.com/2013/06/google-analytics-metrics-part-2/feed/010 Ways to Optimize Your Website for Saleshttp://www.bluezoocreative.com/2013/06/10-ways-to-optimize-your-website-for-sales/
http://www.bluezoocreative.com/2013/06/10-ways-to-optimize-your-website-for-sales/#commentsTue, 11 Jun 2013 20:14:04 +0000http://www.bluezoocreative.com/?p=2589Besides great visuals, you need to make your website easy to use. Good web design includes not only visual aspects, but features to make using your site easy for people. You want the layout, navigation and function to all support ease of use by website visitors, especially if you are selling products on your site. […]

Good web design includes not only visual aspects, but features to make using your site easy for people. You want the layout, navigation and function to all support ease of use by website visitors, especially if you are selling products on your site.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process that makes your site more attractive to search engines to help boost traffic. If you want to learn how to boost your traffic, read Collin’s post on SEO for your website.

Once those people come to your site, you want to make sure that they can find what they are looking for. This blog explores some ways to optimize your website for sales, which is optimizing your site for people. In other words, making it easier to use, navigate, and find information on your site.

Test your site early and often. Plan ahead to ensure your site can handle heavy visits or shopping traffic.

Test your content for misspelled words, broken links, pictures, etc.

Make sure images load quickly. A page that is slow to load may drive customers away.

Install, verify and test all plug-ins and upgrades to make sure they are working correctly.

Load test your site to see how much traffic it can support.

Create sample transactions. These simulate expected customer traffic and web transactions. By running sample transactions periodically, every five to 15 minutes, you’ll know if there is a problem before your customers do.

Check the performance of your network provider. Compare a site that is similar to yours, but connected to another network. This will show you which network performs better.

Add cross-sell and upsell opportunities throughout your site. For example, on our About Blue Zoo page we mention and link to our web design and social media pages. Offer suggestions for “Bestsellers” or “favorite blogs” to improve sales and create more buying opportunities.

Make it easy to find and contact customer service. Providing an easy-to-find phone number on the site helps online shoppers feel more secure. Clearly state your company’s return policy on your site.

Make your search function more effective. Your search function should accommodate common misspellings by returning similarly spelled items or your site’s most popular search terms.

If you have any questions about optimization, contact Collin, our in-house expert.

Quit Monkeying Around. Get Optimized Today. Join the Zoo.

]]>http://www.bluezoocreative.com/2013/06/10-ways-to-optimize-your-website-for-sales/feed/0Where Do My Website Visitors Come From?http://www.bluezoocreative.com/2013/04/where-do-my-website-visitors-come-from/
http://www.bluezoocreative.com/2013/04/where-do-my-website-visitors-come-from/#commentsThu, 04 Apr 2013 15:00:41 +0000http://www.bluezoocreative.com/?p=3646Increasing website traffic is a common goal of most website owners, but to do so, you have to know how visitors get to your site. There are four main sources for website visitors: organic search, paid search, direct, and referral. Organic search and paid search is simply traffic that comes from search engines like Google. […]

]]>http://www.bluezoocreative.com/2013/04/where-do-my-website-visitors-come-from/feed/28 Tips for Increasing Traffic on New Blogshttp://www.bluezoocreative.com/2013/03/8-tips-for-increasing-traffic-new-blogs/
http://www.bluezoocreative.com/2013/03/8-tips-for-increasing-traffic-new-blogs/#commentsMon, 25 Mar 2013 15:00:22 +0000http://www.bluezoocreative.com/?p=3607Starting a new blog can seem difficult or even overwhelming. Most of us are busy with other things in our business and personal life. I know it’s been a challenge for me to balance my writing for Blue Zoo, myself and clients! But remember that blogging is a great way to increase your visibility to […]

Most of us are busy with other things in our business and personal life. I know it’s been a challenge for me to balance my writing for Blue Zoo, myself and clients!

But remember that blogging is a great way to increase your visibility to people looking for your products and services. Adding valuable, relevant and actionable content to your website consistently will help not only attract an audience, but also those hungry spiders that affect your search ranking. For more on search and SEO, read our blog called Where Does My Traffic Come From?

Here are 8 Tips for Increasing Traffic on New Blogs:

Write relevant, helpful and actionable content. To make the most impact, this needs to be done regularly, ideally every week. It’s very important to make the content useful and relevant to your target audience.

Learn to be a better writer. This takes time and practice. You want to tell stories that are personal, helpful and engaging.

Use great pictures, infographics and illustrations. Most people are very visual. Good images attract a person to read more and/ or engage with the post.

Learn to use your blogging platform. Most platforms, like WordPress, offer tutorials and support. Even a well written post is enhanced with good formatting, headlines, tags, etc.

Put your best content on social bookmarking sites like Digg.com, Delicious.com, Reditt.com, or Stumbleupon.com.

Share your blog posts on various social media networks. You want to encourage people to share your content and links.

Write articles related to your industry and submit them to sites such as GoArticles.com.

Submit your site to online directories relevant to your industry and niche.

OK, now that I’ve overwhelmed you, just go write something. Take one small step at a time. Build on your progress. You’ll get better with time and practice. Find out how Blue Zoo can help you plan, create or edit your content.